


When the Dark Soul Lightens

by Nothing_can_last_forever



Category: Broadchurch
Genre: Caring Hardy, Mild Hurt/Comfort, Multi, Slight Alec Whump
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-28
Updated: 2017-10-28
Packaged: 2019-01-25 08:28:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,126
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12527200
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nothing_can_last_forever/pseuds/Nothing_can_last_forever
Summary: Hardy is tasked with a great responsibility, things happen, and four residents of Broadchurch get to know Alec better than before.





	When the Dark Soul Lightens

**Author's Note:**

> Enjoy this oneshot! Disclaimer: I do not own Broadchurch, all rights are reserved to ITV and the writers of the show.

Alec stares down at the youngest Miller, whose arms are wide open in ‘up’ position, and is currently calling the surly detective inspector ‘Unwle Alec’. He desperately turns to his colleague as she’s leaving, listening to her laughing as he calls after her, Miller! echoing around the now-empty house. The toddler, now standing next to Hardy’s legs, tugs on his pants to regain his attention and again demands to be held as he sobs. He relents, seeing the sobbing boy, and his pacemaker throbs as he tries to calm the lad down. Seeing the crying child, Hardy knew that he shouldn’t have let Miller cash in one of her favours, going out for lunch and dinner with her family and leaving her two boys in the care of Alec Hardy. Tom had left with friend’s prior, leaving only the wailing toddler and the anxious DI. Cradling the boy, Hardy is flashed back into a different year, where Daisy was the wee one in his arms. A sharp kick to his heart brings him back, and he has to act quickly to prevent himself from dropping Fred. 

He tries everything, from walking around the house to singing Scottish lullabies, but nothing works. Hardy’s tempted to call Miller after an hour and half goes on, but argues against it and decides to take the screaming child out for a stroll. It’s a hassle to get him into his pram, the blonde-haired child lashing him and kicking him until he kicks him near the heart, right where the pacemaker scar is. Alec immediately goes down, holding back a scream as he fights through the haze. He notices that the lad has stopped yelling, staring in confusion as he tries to get up despite the pain. Hardy’s unsuccessful as he tumbles again, urgently trying to upright himself with the help of the table, but yet again fails. His heart pounding, he feels the pacemaker speeding up, and tries to get his phone. With the last of his strength, he unclips Fred from his pram and finally falls, out of breath and deep in a panic attack. 

When he finally comes to, Hardy finds himself on the couch, confused and sore. He feels a tiny body curled up beside him, and hesitantly looking he finds Fred pressed up against him, eyes boring into his head. The tap in the kitchen alerts him to someone else’s presence, and he immediately wraps Fred up in his arms in his panic. A woman comes speeding out of the kitchen as the young boy yelps, a man following after her. It takes a moment for Alec to recognise the duo as Beth and Mark Latimer, and he grows even more confused. Taking note of the puzzlement on the DI’s face, Beth tells him of how she had heard Fred screaming as she ran, and after trying to call Ellie she had tried him, only to hear his phone ringing inside the house. Going inside, she had found him collapsed in the living room with Fred desperately trying to wake him up. Beth had immediately called Mark and tried to calm the boy down, who was absolutely certain that he had hurt his ‘Unwle Alec’. They moved the man to the couch, where he had been for the past half hour. 

Groaning against the blooming headache, he takes the water offered by Beth and pops two pills, feeling the gazes of the other occupants. He gratefully thanks Beth and Mark, and as he tries to lead them to the door the sharp kicking again knocks him, leaving him with a near-crying child and two concerned adults. The second try is more successful as he stands, but Fred doesn’t let go, clutching onto the rumpled shirt with hand and the other grasping the long strands of Hardy’s hair. Deciding against walking with the boy, he offers the Latimer’s a seat, and the four sit in awkward silence until Beth starts laughing. She laughs harder as Alec turns to her stumped, only managing to get out Unwle Alec before she starts again. Fred instantly jumps at the nickname, telling the two friends of Ellie’s about how great he was until said man distracted him with a nearby trainset, blushing as the Latimer’s continue to laugh. 

The three adults watch Fred play for a while before Mark starts with the personal questions, wanting to know more about the man who had found Danny’s killer. At first, the DI was sceptical about talking about himself, only giving short answers when it comes to his life before Broadchurch, not wanting to give the town more rumours about his life. Alec finally opens up when they ask about Daisy, and they look on in shock as he smiles at the photos in his phone before showing them his daughter. They laugh and enjoy themselves as they talk about their children and the children around them, Alec unconsciously playing with Fred when the lad yanks on his arms and passes him a teddy bear. Beth subtly takes a picture and sends it to Ellie, wanting to see her reaction to the gruff man actually interacting with another human, albeit a child. 

As its time for Tom to return back to the Miller house, Hardy sends Mark and Beth on their way, thanking them again with sincerity in his voice. They had learnt more about the tough man in one afternoon than the entire time he had been at Broadchurch. After they leave, Alec joins Fred on the floor, entertaining the young boy until his older brother comes home. Tom finds the bearish man in amongst the mounds of toys, holding a sleeping Fred against his chest, humming as he cleans the floor with only one arm. Tom stops by the door and grabs his phone, filming the gruff man and his little brother, getting ready to use it for future blackmail. Letting it go on for a few minutes, he brings attention to himself, briefly scaring the DI. 

The boys continue to enjoy themselves late into the night, playing the Xbox and board games until Fred demands to be put to bed, leaving Tom and Alec waiting for the eldest Miller to come home. The boy introduces Hardy to console, and laughs as the older man tries and fails to use the game. Ellie eventually comes home hours after she had said she would be back, hoping that her boss wouldn’t be too mad with her. Instead, she finds the hardened DI sleeping on the couch, looking vulnerable without his gruff looks and cruel yet truthful words. She can’t bear to wake him up, finding the nearest blanket and draping it over him, knowing that he would be gone early in the morning.


End file.
